New Solar Material Could Bring Solar Energy Through Glass Windows

A new material named perovskite, which is a crystalline mineral made of calcium and titanium, might be the revolution that the solar energy needs to move to the next level.

It can recycle light, it's cheap, lightweight and easy to produce. Something that may make it the worthwhile stand-in for silicon-based solar panels.

It took a long 30-year period for silicon-based solar panel technology to reach an efficiency of 21%. At the end of 2015, perovskite hit that mark in a research lab in just 3 years, making it the fastest improving solar technology to date. Its earliest applications will mean using it as a companion to silicon-based solar, not a replacement.

Oxford PV is working with solar manufacturers to debut a panel with a perovskite layer on top of existing panel technology, boosting its efficiency by about 20%. Silicon panels generate power today at about 70 cents per watt, and this layer would bring it to at least 60 cents per watt and it would require little change to existing manufacturing.

It will be a much longer before perovskites can stand alone, which will require a number of further innovations, including making larger cells and making sure they can operate reliably for many years. Moisture is very bad for the material, so Stranks says that durable encapsulation structures will be needed to keep all humidity out. “We still have work to do, and it will take a global push to realize the full potential,” he says.

But the future of solar using perovskite panels could look very different. They can be tuned to be different colors and could line glass buildings someday. Because the material is flexible and lightweight, it could help deploy solar to more remote communities. And the material could ultimately work out for LED lights, too (LEDs are essentially solar cells run in reverse).

I am a former aspiring financial services worker with a special place in my heart for Solar Energy and renewable energy. I got hit pretty bad during the financial downturn and realized that the banking industry is literally bleeding the world dry.

So I switched my focus to something that gives back to the world rather than just takes from it. Renewable energy, especially solar, is something that will help us live on this planet for a long time to come.

General interests of mine include financial stability, world events, being prepared for the worst, renewable energy and sustainability and more. I'm learning something new everyday!

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